Sunday, March 27, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!!!

 
Justin's birthday is really April 27, but I *HOPE* by that time we will have Rose with us...so either we will have a very new baby or I will be very uncomfortable and crabby for his actual birthday...either way, celebrating early seemed like the best way to ensure Justin knew he was loved (and a good excuse for cake!) Thanks to all our family who joined us for cake and ice cream :)

Friday, March 25, 2011

36 weeks


How far along?  36weeks, full-term next week!
Maternity clothes?  It's still a mix....but really only maternity stuff or Justin’s PJ pants fit well :(
Sleep?  I have good nights and not so good nights, but really considering everything, nothing to complain about 

Best moment last week? Sorry, mom just pointed out I forgot to fill this in...Justin installed a new railing for the front stairs!!!
Movement? She continues to be pretty active, especially when Justin and I are just sitting together on the couch after dinner. I feel like she is trying to stretch out more, but there is just no more room!
Food cravings? My sweet tooth is back :)
Labor signs? Well I am hopeful, but besides some Braxton Hicks, nothing...
Belly button in/out? IN
What I miss: I FEEL HUGE, soooo I miss not feeling huge
What I am looking forward to: April and a full-term baby
My thoughts:
I feel really excited to be counting down to week  37! I  will be so happy to have carried a full-term baby who will hopefully be happy and healthy! Justin and I have completed the *necessary* home projects, although there are a couple more that would be nice to have completed.  Her bag is packed for the birth center, I do still have to pack for me and some stuff for Justin.  But, over all we feel as ready as we are going to be. This week I start my weekly visits until Rose arrives and Wednesday Justin will attend with me for our ‘out of hospital’ birth class. But we are just winding down with everything and waiting...

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

BEETS

So as promised last night for dinner I made beets for the first time...if nothing else they at least looked pretty!

BUT he ate it!!

And I ate them too :) To tell the truth I didn't think I liked beets either...but they were actually pretty yummy. I don't think I would make them on a weekly basis, but if they are in our box again I don't think I would be afraid of them or always swap them out for something different.

The recipe is for Roasted Beets with Feta (allrecipes.com). VERY EASY, your hands just get a little pink :)

Monday, March 21, 2011

another new dinner

I *promise* that I will not be posting what I made for dinner every night, but this week is exciting with the box of vegetables and fruits that I am forced to either use or throw away (and I do not plan to throw anything away!). So onto what I made tonight...
I used lemons, potatoes, and yams from our box and made pan-fried lemon chicken (I kind of just put a couple recipes together for this) and rosemary mashed potatoes and yams (allrecipes.com).

Again the measure of success is whether Justin liked it...and he did!!! He went back for seconds of the potatoes :) I did promise him years ago (can you believe we will be married 5 years in June?) that I would do my best to keep dinners new and interesting; this week I think I deserve an A+. Tomorrow night I am going to tackle the beets...I'll keep you posted on that one!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

BOX OF AWESOMENESS

 (2 yams, 4 potatoes, bunch of beets, 3 apples, 7 lemons, 2 oranges, 
1 mango, 4 bananas, and a bag of baby carrots)

Today we picked up our first box of organic produce from Suburban Organics at Butter Valley Harvest as part of the co-op we joined!! We were really excited to see (and taste) everything we got! Justin didn’t even wait until we got home to eat a banana ;) This program lasts year round so we will always have organic vegetables and fruits in the house. When Rose is ready for solid foods I plan on making at least some of her food and this will be great stuff to feed her!

So tonight for dinner I made Mango Chicken Curry from allrecipes.com. This was the first time I ever cooked with a mango...it was a little interesting to peal, but it got easier! Justin said dinner was delicious and even went back for seconds! The mango was sweet and soft and we will definitely have this again :)

35 Weeks

How far along?  35 weeks, in only 14 more days and she will be full-term!!
Maternity clothes?  It's not so much of a mix anymore :)
Sleep?  Well I don’t wake up for trips to the bathroom, but I do wake up a couple times to change positions...but it’s not so bad
Best moment last week? Thursday's beautiful weather gave a hint at what spring will be like...I can't wait!!
Movement? Even Justin felt her kick this week and thought she was really powerful...and he was just feeling the outside!
Food cravings? This week I got to go to Shady Maple :) I am wishing Easter was not AFTER my due date (it does seem really late this year) becuase I could use a big basket of chocolate (thankfully even though I am old, my mommy still makes me a basket!)
Labor signs? Well, my Braxton Hicks have been getting progressively stronger and more frequent, SOOO maybe my body is starting to get ready for some fun :p
Belly button in/out? IN
What I miss: Bending over, it's getting more complicated to put socks on...but I can still touch my toes!
What I am looking forward to: April showers will bring our flower {heart}
My thoughts:
I had my 34 week check-up and all is well :) My iron was up to 35% which they say is great. I have gained about 20 lbs so far and will most likely hit at least 25-30 lbs gained, so that is right on track! My uterus measured at 34 weeks, she must have had a growth spurt as I was usually behind a week or so, but I am still hoping for less than 8 lbs!! During this visit we also went over the different situations where going to the hospital would be advised. Not too much worries me at this point about our birth plan. At my next visit they will check the position of the baby and so as long as she is head down we are still planning to go to the birth center. What happens after labor is in progress, who knows!!! BUT I feel very comfortable with how my body has done thus far and I have great confidence in the midwives to give me the best advice and Justin to support me, SO whatever happens I am looking forward to welcoming Rose!
Also after the shower and getting a couple more items, we are pretty set for Rose to arrive...so hopefully this week I will get some pictures of the nursery posted to share :) 
The nice weather we are starting to have is really making me ready to spend time outside, so Justin and I have some projects we are trying to get done around the house. This weekend so far we did get the fenced in area cleaned up and the front flower beds mulched. Justin and I are going to be working on cleaning the siding and painting the trim this summer/fall, so I don't think I will be planting much except in pots... Anyway we also need to put up some house numbers, as it stated on the bill from our last oil delivery, there are no numbers on our house. I usually just tell people it's the dirty white house with lime green trim next to Rocky's...no one has been confused yet ;) Anyway as you can tell I am starting to get a bit sarcastic about the appearance of our home...it was just more important to work on the inside AND there was a lot to do inside (there are still some pretty big projects) but it's time to tackle the outside this year!! So Rose can enjoy the wonderful weather this summer while mom and dad scrub and paint :)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Cloth Diapering- Getting Started :)

Some people at the shower asked me about cloth diapering...I don’t think it was     sarcastic :) So here is a little bit about why Justin and I have decided to give it a try (honestly Justin was the one who really spurred the idea for us). So obviously using cloth diapers will cause less waste. Also if my need to buy new cute diapers is kept in check, it will be cheaper than disposables. Finally, although there are now some more natural disposable diapers, using cloth we don’t have to worry about all those chemicals being up against our baby...this has made me think about other products not just for Rose, but also that we use.

SO ANYWAY...I have amassed a collection of newborn diapers to hopefully use about two months or until Rose is ready for OS (one size) cloth diapers that should last her from about 10 lbs until she is toilet trained. We decided to use OS diapers because it is more cost efficient than buying two or three different sizes of diapers as she grows. Also we are really hoping that the Grovia diaper system works for her. The nice thing about the Grovia is that it is a diaper shell and then snap in soaker pads, so you can reuse the shell and just change the soakers. Also with the Grovia system there are disposable inserts that can be used in place of the cloth soaker pads, that would probably be nice for traveling. These can be flushed, composted (not poo), or thrown into the trash (they will break down much quicker then disposable diapers and it is MUCH smaller than a whole disposable diaper). Then we have some pocket diapers for extra protection...pockets are diapers that can be stuffed with cloth inserts to increase absorbency (like naps and overnight). Also I can stuff the pockets before sending Rose to the grandparents, so they are just like disposables, if that's what the grandma's prefer.

The questions I most often get are about the amount of work it will be to wash them and dealing with poo...
Well I plan to wash the diapers every other day or so. Really the washer does all the work, so as long as I throw them in, we should be good to go :)
And I don’t really know what I’m going to do about poo yet. Breastfeed baby’s poo can be thrown right in the wash, no need to do anything :) After she starts eating solids there are some options...we can get a diaper sprayer (that does seem a bit messy to me) or place a liner in the diaper which would allow liquid to pass into the cloth diaper, but would hold the poo, and then that can all be flushed. Did you know that even with disposable diapers it says all solids should  NOT be thrown in the trash?

Ok so here’s the cute part...pictues of the diapers!!

Our newborn stash:
 Prefolds (they need a waterproof cover)...this is probably what most people associate with a cloth diaper, you can pin them if you have a wiggly baby, but from what I have read, just laying them in a cover seems fine for most babies.

 Fitteds (they need a waterproof cover)...these snap closed and then you place a cover over them.

 Covers...these go over the prefolds and fitteds to make them waterproof, super easy to use, just put on the baby and velco closed! As long as they have not gotten messy they can be reused several times before washing.

 XS Pocket and XS AIO...so these are what many consider to be the quickest and easiest to use. The pocket can be stuffed for more absorbency and the AIO is ready just to put right on! These diapers do cost a bit more and need to be washed after each use.

So compare my cloth diapers to disposables:

I have purchased 12 prefolds, 6 fitteds, 2 xs pockets, 2 xs aio's, and 4 covers for about $100.00...this is my newborn collection and should last about 2 months.
The XL case of Pampers at diapers.com put the smallest size diaper at .18 each. This means using 12 diapers a day for 60 days costs $129.60. Plus this all goes in the trash. 

When Rose has outgrown her newborn stash, we can use the prefolds to stuff in the pockets or just as rags in the garage. The rest of the diapers can be sold back to other moms. So we will have zero waste :)

Then when she is a little bigger:
Grovia shells, soaker pads

Disposable inserts

Liners

OS pockets: Rumparoozs and BumGenius

We only have a few of the Grovia and OS diapers to see what everyone likes and what fits Rose the best, so we will have to get more of whatever we decide to use as our primary diaper. We'll keep you updated on how it goes!!

Friday, March 11, 2011

34 Weeks

(If I don't look HUGE to you in this picture, please see your eye doctor, 
you may need a stronger presription!!)

How far along?  34 weeks, in only 3 more she will be full-term!!
Maternity clothes?  It's still a mix....
Sleep?  Good
Best moment last week? We finished our birthing classes
Movement? WOW, I think I am feeling her move more than at any other time during the pregnancy. AND she is soooo strong, I feel at times she is just going to pop out somewhere :)
Food cravings? Justin took me to Olive Garden this week and it was delicious!
Labor signs? None!
Belly button in/out? IN, I guess at this point I’m routing for her...she seems to want to hold in and so here’s hoping she makes it.
What I miss: Ok, so for a long time I have thought maternity jeans were the best thing ever and why would I ever want to go back to regular pants, well now I miss them...
What I am looking forward to: 37 weeks and a full-term baby!!
My thoughts:
Our final birth class this week was on comforting a crying baby and how life changes with a child. Justin did a great job swaddling and soothing the practice baby, so hopefully he is ready for whatever Rose throws at him :) It will take us time to get to know all her cries and what she needs, but we’ll keep trying until we get it right...I’m sure she’ll understand that we are learning!!
This weekend Justin and I have quite the ‘to-do’ list we would like to accomplish...I have *just* about finished my ‘thank-you’ notes from the shower last weekend and would like to get those in the mail. I also have several recipes to make to freeze some meals for us to make life a bit easier those first couple weeks. Finally, I would like to finish putting things away in the nursery. Justin has some outside projects to work on, depending on the weather, and both our vehicles need to be inspected this month, so he needs to spend some time getting them ready. That should be plenty to keep us both busy :)

Sunday, March 6, 2011

SHOWER and 33 Weeks :)

SHOWER!!
Saturday Baby Rose was showered by our friends and family!! A HUGE thanks to my mom, Connie, Becky, and Kate for organizing, decorating, and holding a beautiful shower!! It was wonderful to see so many of my family and friends and share in this special time celebrating Rose’s pending arrival. I was overwhelmed by the thoughtful gifts people blessed us with for Rose.
My sister had a special outfit for Justin to wear when he changes diapers! 

One of the games was to guess how big my tummy was... 

Baby Rose got LOTS of presents :)

(I will post more pictures as soon as I get some...you see Justin had the camera and he did not take pictures so, right now I only have a few!)


How far along?  33 weeks, in only 4 more she will be full-term!!
Maternity clothes?  It's still a mix....although to be honest a few pair of stretchy pants I was wearing are no longer comfortable
Sleep?  Good, I am trying to get all I can now...
Best moment last week? Baby Shower :)
Movement?  I am pretty sure *fingers crossed* she has assumed the head down position. Up until this point she was laying transverse and I have to admit it was really pretty comfortable all things considered. Now, while I am really glad she is getting ready for her entrance, I have felt some jabs to the ribs which are not so fun. Also with her change of position I feel that I stick out much more and this has made bending over not so easy...
Food cravings? ooo I love so much food: chocolate, smoothies, cake, veggies and fruit
Labor signs? None! But I am aware of when I am having Braxton Hick contractions...my whole stomach feels hard and all of a sudden I will feel short of breath.
Belly button in/out? IN
What I miss: Bending over to pick things up off the floor
What I am looking forward to: One more birthing class
My thoughts:
This past week Justin and I attended our 4th birth class, the class covered reasons for cesarean sections and complications in labor...not a really a happy topic, but something we feel better knowing more about. I think I will leave it at that.
After the shower Justin and I were busy for the rest of the weekend washing clothing and sorting items to organize in the nursery. We feel very fortunate to have received many wonderful and useful items, we only had to make a quick trip to pick up a few items we would need for Rose’s arrival, and we feel very ready for her arrival!